Stakeholders in businesses including lenders, directors, shareholders and pension scheme trustees, are increasingly relying on independent business reviews (IBRs) undertaken by restructuring and turnaround specialists in order to assess the ongoing viability of the business amid the recession.

“In some cases it is a matter of looking at weaknesses at board level and then, having conducted a detailed financial review, advising the stakeholder as to the range of options and outcomes available to them in the circumstances and proposing an appropriate strategy to take the business forward,” said Cameron Coles, who has joined business rescue and recovery specialist Begbies Traynor in Edinburgh as a director.

Mr Coles, who was previously with Deloitte, has a specific corporate turnaround and restructuring role, with an emphasis on IBRs for stakeholders in businesses. Although based in Edinburgh, his remit covers the Glasgow, Dundee and Aberdeen offices of Begbies Traynor.

“Stakeholders recognise the increasing importance of IBRs because of the detailed information and insights they provide on a business, along with innovative and tailored recommendations on the most suitable way forward,” he said. “If, however, it’s likely that the stakeholder might be at risk from the business continuing to trade and thereby bleed cash, then an IBR will not shrink from making the unsavoury recommendation to turn off the life support machine.”

Mr Coles, 35, who trained with PwC in Edinburgh, has carried out a significant number of IBRs in recent years across a broad spectrum of sectors, including property, manufacturing, retail, business services, oil and gas and tourism & leisure.

“Where possible we are looking to help companies through this difficult time by advising on possible solutions to the problems they may be facing before their plight becomes terminal,” he said. “People have a tendency to deny or ignore the existence of a problem until it is too late. My role is very much focused on restructuring and turning around a business, as opposed to taking it into administration because there is no other alternative.”

Ken joined the Glasgow office of Begbies Traynor in 2003, before overseeing the firm's expansion into further offices in Edinburgh, Dundee, Aberdeen and Belfast. He previously worked at KPMG, Ernst & Young and PricewaterhouseCoopers in Scotland. He has a broad range of experience in Corporate Rescue and Recovery, as well as in turnaround and restructuring, corporate and personal insolvency, investigations and IBRs.